Tell me about agents and editors

[KindRedSpirit]

O.K. If I want a book ,say childrens book, do I need just an agent?Are they the editor?Or is that seperate?How does that work?TIA.

Also, how would this work for a picture book?Are there editors as far as illustrations?

[wordmommy]

You might want to check out Preditors and Editors . It's a great site for info about almost all aspects of the writing life.

HTH and good luck!

[moodymaximus]

Originally Posted by KindRedSpirit

O.K. If I want a book ,say childrens book, do I need just an agent?Are they the editor?Or is that seperate?How does that work?TIA.

i'm not sure how it works for children's books, but for young adult and for other fiction you'd need an agent first. if an agents takes you on, he or she will look for a publisher for you. the publisher will have an editor to work with you. check out agentquery.com for agents who might accept children's books. it is a great resource, but i never paid attention whether they have "children's" as a category there. you'd also need to narrow down for what age range your books is most suitable, as i believe there are different requirements for each range, in terms of number of words etc. for example, a young adult novel would be around 40K words; an adult novel would be at least 50K, but preferrably 60K, for a first time author.

Also, how would this work for a picture book?Are there editors as far as illustrations?

typically the publisher assigns an illustrator for your book, unless you are an accomplished illustrator yourself.

[Savoir Faire]

The agent is the person you hire to sell the book to the editor. They are like your foot in the door....otherwise you end up in what is called a "slush pile"-- with all the people who are also sending in their stuff.

Look at some of the links on here-- they are definitely the places I've gone in the past. You have to do your research, but it is possible. I'd say start with Agent Query and then cross check by google and preditors and editors.